


Nothing New

by A_Graph_You_Look_At



Series: Learning Curve [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (Fantasy) Racial Slurs, Alec learns to be a better ally, Discussions of Opression, Fantasy Racism, M/M, Maryse is racist, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 22:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12803547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Graph_You_Look_At/pseuds/A_Graph_You_Look_At
Summary: “For things to change, you first have to recognize that they need changing.”





	Nothing New

**Author's Note:**

> This is set somewhere between 2x06 and 2x07. This was written before 2A even aired I think? So it doesn't really incorporate all of the great stuff the show has touched upon with the Shadowhunters' treatment of Downworlders.
> 
> This is part of a series in which Alec Learns Things about the culture in which he was raised, and starts to become a better ally and start changing an oppressive system. His first instincts/responses to things may not be perfect, but he's trying to learn.

“Alec!  I told you I wanted those reports filed by now.”  His mother’s voice echoes across the training room where Alec is knocking Clary to the ground (again).  He barely stops his eyes from rolling out of his head.

 

“Good morning to you, too, Mother,” he mumbles and Clary stifles a laugh beneath him.  He sends her a half smile and offers her a hand to her feet.  Clary was gaining ground in her training as well as in Alec’s opinion of her.  Maryse clears her throat, now standing in front of the two, demanding attention.

 

“Alec, you know that we are under an eagle’s eye from the Clave.  The reputation of this Institute, this  _ family _ , is at stake.  What more-”

 

“Mother, they  _ are  _ filed.  I finished the last of them last night.”  Alec cuts her off, already done with her dramatics.  “I finished the ones you asked for and the ones you didn’t.  All backed up to the Institute’s database as well as the Clave’s.”  Something in Maryse’s face shifts, a flash of emotion she quickly covers.

 

“Oh.  I see.”  She turns to leave.  Alec narrows his eyes, something prickling at the back of his mind.  

 

“What was that about?”  Clary asks as Maryse slips out of the training room, head held a little too high.  

 

“I don’t know.”  Alec takes advantage of Clary’s distraction and sweeps her leg from underneath her (again).

 

\--

 

Alec gently knocks on his mother’s open office door, hesitant to submit to another lecture from her, but knowing he needs to before he can leave the Institute for the night.

 

“Izzy said you wanted to see me?”  After his training session with Clary, Alec had received a quick text from his sister that said as much in fewer words and more emojis.

 

Maryse looks up from the papers strewn across her desk, eyes narrowing at her oldest son.  “Come in, Alec.  And close the door behind you.”

 

Alec is 23, but he feels 17 all over again as he closes the door and goes to sit in the uncomfortable chair facing his mother’s desk.  It feels like half his childhood was spent in this chair, receiving lectures or orders or punishments.  The leather used to squeak under him, new and shiny, but now it settles under him without a sound.  

 

“You wanted to speak with me?”  Alec doesn’t want to make this any longer than he has to.  He hopes his mother has the same idea. 

 

“Yes, I’ve been wanting to...broach a topic with you.”  Her pause indicates she was searching for the right words, but her calm demeanor suggests it was more for effect.  Like she wanted to appear off the cuff when this has been written, memorized, and rehearsed many times over.  Alec starts to lose hope that this will be quick.  He decides to cut to the chase and hopefully skip the script.

 

“Whatever it is, will you please say it,  Mother?”

 

\---

 

“I just can’t believe she would say something like that!  It’s so- ugh!”  Alec doesn’t have words for the anger and frustration roiling inside of him.  What his mother had said...”it’s horrible!  How could she insinuate that- that we- that  _ you _ -”

 

“Alec, calm down and tell me what happened,” Magnus’ fingers brush against Alec’s shoulder, hesitant.  Alec had just burst into the loft, a ball of agitation and half-formed sentences, but he turns now, seeing Magnus’ concern.  

 

“Shit, I’m sorry, Magnus.” 

 

“It’s all right.  Now sit down and tell me what happened.”

 

\---

 

“In a rush?”  Maryse folds her hands in front of her, something forced and awkward about the gesture.

 

“I have plans to see Magnus tonight.”  Alec doesn’t break eye contact.  Maryse’s jaw clenches ever so slightly.  It’s all he needs to see. “So please make whatever complaint you have about him quick.”

 

“Alexander, I won’t play games with you.  I don’t want you to spend any more time with Magnus Bane.”

 

“That’s not your decision to make.”  Alec is almost surprised by how steady his voice is.  It’s probably because he’s played out a version of this conversation in his head a thousand times, in one form or another, since he was 14.

 

“Alec, as the head of this Institute-” Alec can’t resist rolling his eyes “-I cannot condone fraternization with one of our most valuable Downworld assets.” 

 

“Excuse me?”  In all the thousand permutations he’s imagined, he’s never run across this one.  Alec is so confused by the left-turn this conversation has taken that he doesn’t interrupt Maryse as she pulls some of the papers from her desk to reference.  

 

“The New York Institute employs Magnus Bane far more than any other warlock in the area.  His consultancy fees are exorbitant, but his work is impeccable.  He’s one of the only warlocks both powerful enough to fulfill our needs and willing to come under our employ.  Alec, I cannot risk your dalliance with him to lead to the loss of his service to the Clave.”

 

Maryse folds her hands in front of her again and looks at her son with a carefully blank expression.  “This institute relies far too heavily on the work of Warlock Bane for a bad breakup to risk this business relationship.  I recommend you end your relation with him early and cordially before it gets too messy.”  

 

Alec’s head is spinning, but there’s only one thing he can focus on.

 

“Dalliance?  Mother, what do you think my relationship with Magnus is?  A  _ dalliance _ ?”  Maryse makes to respond, but Alec continues, words coming from his mouth before he can really think about them.  “I don’t think you understand; my feelings for Magnus are not some inflated sense of physical attraction or desire.  He’s not some hook-up that I’m intending to leave by the wayside.  I care deeply for him, and I intend to continue doing so.”  

 

Maryse takes a moment to respond, leaving Alec standing alone with his thoughts.  He and Magnus haven’t been together long;  they’ve only recently gone on their first official date, but Alec knows that his feelings for Magnus are serious.  He’s reminiscing about the effort he and Magnus agreed to put into their budding relationship when Maryse speaks again.

 

“I’m sorry that I misread the situation, Alexander,”  Alec relaxes slightly, hoping against hope that Maryse understands that Magnus is someone he’s going to fight for.  “In fact, I believe your relationship with Warlock Bane will come to prove very useful to this Institute.  From now on, all requests for services provided by Bane will go through you.”

 

Maryse cracks a smile.  Alec doesn’t.  
  
“I am sorry for not considering the situation fully.  I was too worried you were jeopardizing the Institute’s interests that I did not see the boon your connection to Bane could be, monetarily and otherwise.” Alec doesn’t believe it.  

 

“You want to exploit my relationship with Magnus for a discount?”

 

“That’s an awfully Mundane way of putting it.”

 

Alec doesn’t even think about his response.

 

“Absolutely not.”  He makes to leave Maryse’s office, but something in him burns a little hotter at her look of shock at his refusal.  “Magnus is more than what he can do for others.  He’s talented and powerful, but he’s also a person.  A person that is overworked enough as it is.  A person that-”

 

“-is not a person, Alec!  He’s a warlock.” Maryse’s careful calmness has cracked, showing the anger Alec had expected from the beginning.  She stands from behind her desk, hands clenched at her sides.  “And I’m trying to understand your voluntary association with him, but for the life of me, I cannot.  I understand that you are young and your physical preferences may cloud your judgement, but I know you are a level-headed man, someone who is capable of making smart choices. The son I raised is fiercely dedicated to the wellbeing of this Institute, the Institute I hoped you would one day helm before you threw that chance away, but the Shadowhunter I see before me now is caught up in sentiment for a half-breed!  I will not have you blaspheme not only your own name and reputation but also the best interests of this Institute.  The safety of your brothers and sister, Alec?  Is some demon’s child really worth it?  Or are you really to clouded by whatever spell he has cast upon you?”  

 

Maryse takes a deep breath, releasing it in a huff, and raises her head proudly.  She sits down again, shuffling the papers still on her desk.  The tension in her shoulders shows that she has more she wants to say, but when she looks up again, Alec is not there to listen.  

 

\---

 

“I just can’t believe-”

 

“Then you need to  _ start _ believing, Alec!”  The tension breaks and Alec’s eyes snap to Magnus, confused and hurt by how sharp his voice is.  “Because this is not  _ new _ .  Half-breed, demon-spawn, whore’s children.  Warlocks have been called this for centuries.  Long before I was born.  Long before Johnathan Shadowhunter existed.  And when Shadowhunters  _ did _ come, they only legitimized how warlocks should be seen, should be used.  Made it practice to demand magic yet condemn those who could perform it.  The way you see your mother treat me, the way you see your kind treat mine.  Alec, it is not new.”  Some of the fire fades from Magnus’ voice his face, and he turns away from Alec, still standing dumbfounded in the middle of Magnus’ living room.  When he speaks again, Magnus doesn’t look at Alec.

 

“Oppression is rarely seen as such by the oppressors.  And that’s what Shadowhunters are, Alec.  That’s what they have been for centuries.  I know because I’ve lived through it.  Things have been worse, of course they’ve been worse.  But that doesn’t mean that problems don’t still exist.  And, like it or not, you are part of a society that has built itself on the backs of others.  Of Downworlders.  And the sooner you realize that - the sooner you  _  believe  _ it- the sooner you’ll be able to start changing it.”  Magnus looks up, his eyes old and sad.  Alec thinks there’s guilt in them, but he isn’t sure until Magnus stands up from his seat on the couch and walks to Alec.

 

“Because I know you don’t mean it.  And I know this is new to you,”  Magnus reaches his hand out, and Alec doesn’t think about not taking it.  Their fingers lock between them, and despite their connection, they are still separated by the lengths of their extended arms.  “But for things to change, you first have to recognize that they need changing.”

 

Alec feels himself nod.  There’s something in his chest he can’t name and his cheeks feel hot and his eyes are starting to hurt.  He doesn’t even realize that he’s no longer looking at Magnus until he speaks.

 

“I have a client I need to meet in Chelsea soon.  You’re welcome to stay if you wish.”  And with that, Magnus drops Alec’s hand and walks towards his office in the back of the loft, leaving Alec with a buzzing head and a heavy heart.

 

\--

 

Alec’s phone reads 2:13 am when he hears Magnus’ patent leather shoes against the entryway floor.  He hadn’t left after Magnus, instead carving himself a space on the couch, determined to stay.  Alec knew enough about relationships to know that he shouldn’t leave when there was unresolved tension between the two of them.  So Alec had sat for an hour, mind running in circles about how to fix what he’d somehow broken.  Because that was the only thing in Alec’s mind.   _ He had done something wrong, and he needed to fix it _ .  It took Alec an hour and a half to realize he was completely and utterly misguided.

 

“ _ For things to change, you first have to recognize that they need changing. _ ”  

 

Alec made himself a cup of tea and started thinking about what Magnus had actually said to him that afternoon.

 

Three cups later, and he felt worse than he had in a long time.  

 

Alec thought he had already had these revelations. With Meliorn and Izzy’s trial, and confronting his parents.  He thought he  _ had _ recognized that the Clave had flaws.  Now he was seeing that the Clave had more flaws that he could have imagined, and so many of them ran deep in the history Magnus had talked about.  And now Alec was starting to see it.  

 

So when Magnus gets home, Alec stands up from the couch, intending to do something other than stare at Magnus, but he fails.  Magnus is staring right back at him, face open in surprise, and Alec doesn’t know what that means.  

 

“I think I understand,” Alec blurts out.  “Everything you were saying.  I thought about it.”  

 

Magnus’ face levels to a careful vacant expression.  Alec doesn’t know what that means, either.

 

“Things need changing.  And I want to help change them.”

 

They stand across from each other - Magnus at the entryway, Alec in the living room - and there’s just silence as Magnus nods.  “Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and PMs welcome


End file.
